Temporary binder



(No Model.)

' G. BONNELL.

. TEMPORARY BINDER.

No. 536,913. Patented Apr. 2, 1895.

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TEMPORARY BINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,913, dated April 2,1895. Application filed October 1,1894. Serial mfszacso. (No modeL) Toall whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, GEORGE BONNELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Temporary Binders, of which the following is aspecification.

The object of my invention or improvement is to make a temporary binderor paper file, particularly adapted for the temporary filing of railwayfreight tariffs, although it may be used for other purposes, in whicheach tarifi is separately and detachably secured to the permanent stubor flap in the book; and my luvention consists in the features anddetails hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of one of my improvedfiles or binders,

- and Fig. 2 a plan view of the same open, with some of the tariffs inplace.

At the present time, so far as my knowledge goes, temporary files orbinders for railway freight tariffs; and similar purposes, are made inthe form of a book with the desired number of leaves, and with fillersor stubs or leaves arranged between to give the desired thickness to theback of the book. These leaves are provided with a topical index, sothat tariffs relating to different subjects can be inserted at theirproper places. Each railroad, with which the company keeping the bindersor fillers does business, is represented by a book or books appropriatedto such company, and all of its freight tariffs are arranged in suchbook. Ininserting the tarifis, the first one is pasted upon theappropriate leaf, and as amendments to the tariff are received, they arepasted upon the tariff first received so as to overlap at the upper end,leaving a margin of the tarifi first received protruding or exposed atthe bottom. Succeeding amendments are pasted in the same way until theleaf is filled, or until a new tariff supersedin g the previouslyexisting ones is received, when it is pasted in and a new start begun asbefore. When the book is filled, a new book is commenced and the old onefiled away in some safe place of storage. It often happens that a bookis finished while many tariifs contained in it are still in force, inwhich case reference must be had to the rent tariffs removed from theold book and pasted into the new. As, however, they are pasted in, it isdifficult-and practically impossible-to remove themswithout mutilatingor destroying some of them and marring the book in which they arepasted.Furthermore, a large number of books is accumulated, which, as thetariffs pasted into them cease to be in force, become practicallyvalueless, although they represent a large initial expense and requiremuch room and trouble in storage and preservation. I propose to obviatethese objections and difficulties and make one book with each railwaycompany, or divisions thereof, serve the purpose and last an indefinitelength of time, thus avoiding the large initial expense and the room andtrouble of storage above explained, as I will now point out.

In making my freight tariff file or temporary binder, I make a book asusual, and arrange in it any desired number of leaves, A. These leavesare preferably only sufiicient in number to afford the space orfacilities for a topical index, so that in opening the book anyparticular subject of merchandise or freight may be immediately turnedto. Between these leaves-I arrange a desired number of flaps or stubs,B, which are preferably made of linen or other strong and flexiblematerial, and which overlap each other, so that when viewed from abovethe lower end or margin of each flap or stub will appear projectingbeyond the lower end of the one immediately above it. These stubs orflaps are provided with eyelet holes, I), at a desired distance apart,to enable the tariffs, O, to be attached to them. When the first tariffunder any given subject or topic is received, it is attached to thelowest or bottommost one of the flaps or stubs, by passing ordinarypaper fasteners, 0, through it and through the eyelet holes in thestubs, and bending the ends down, as shown in Fig. 2. When succeedingtarifis are received, they are inserted by fastening them in the samemanner to the next succeeding stubs or flaps in their proper or der, sothat as tariffs are inserted in the book, the bottom or lowest end ofeach will protrude or extend below the bottom or lowest end of the oneimmediately above it.

If desired any particular fact in reference to each tariffas, forinstance, the towns or cities between which it prevails-may be writtenupon the exposed or protruding end, so that by a glance of the eye overthe page, a given or desired tariff may be instantly located. Thesetariffs are not pasted in, but are separately and detachably connectedeach to its own proper slip or stub, so that when any given tariff issuperseded or ceases to be in force, it may be removed by bending thepoints of the paper fastener up, so that they may be removed through theeyelet holes and a new tariff inserted in its place.

\Vhere amendments or additions to any particular tariff are received,they may be attached to the stub or slip on which the particular tariffof which they are an amendment or addition is attached by straighteningthe ends of the paper fastener and inserting it in place the same as themain or tariff proper. In this way, the same book may be usedindefinitely and until it is worn out. Storage room for books, beyondthe current ones in use, is dispensed with. Superseded or displacedtariffs may be removed from the book without injury or mutilation,either to them or to the book, and new ones inserted in their place.Additions or amendments to particular tarilfs can be inserted in directconnection or position with reference to the main or principal tariffsto which they are amendments or additions. The book can be opened at anyparticular tariff without hinderance, as is the case where they arepasted together.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-- In temporarybinders or files, the combination of a cover, a plurality of full sizedleaves, a series of flexible overlapping flaps or stubs provided witheyelet holes interspersed between the leaves and serving the purpose offillers and affording means for attaching matter thereto, substantiallyas described.

GEORGE BONNELL.

Witnesses:

THOMAS A. BANNING, THOMAS B. McGREGon.

